An epic poem dating back from the sixth century would not influence anything for today's time right? Well, Beowulf sure has. You have most likely seen it with your own eyes, but have not even noticed it. Ever see the trilogy Lord of The Ring? It is a creation from the lifelong study of the epic poem. Star Trek fans might have heard of Beowulf, as it was featured in one of the Voyager episodes. Look around, you can find many more elements of the poem around you.
J.R.R Tolkien, creator of "The Lord of The Ring" series gave a more modern example of Beowulf. The climaxes you read about in the poem are the same ones found in the film. They both had to do with battles. The fight against Grendel was one of the peaks of the poem. The L.T.R counterpart would be the battle against Soran.
An illustration of Grendel by J.R. Skelton from St...
English: An illustration of Beowulf fighting the d...
"Now he belched forth flaming fire." An illustrati...Star Trek Voyager, placed in the far future, even showed an episode featuring the old literature. It had many key parts from the poem, but did not show him become king or his demise after the battle with the dragon. Just like we still study Shakespeare to this day, where many elements are shown in the movie Ten Warriors; Beowulf is around in modern and most likely future times as well.
Star Wars, another prime example has many elements throughout the series. Luke Skywalker meets Yoda who instructs him in the ways of the force as Hrothgar teaches Beowulf. A labyrinth has always symbolized a difficult journey into the unknown, and in one way or another, it is often incorporated into tales of the hero's journey. This element is easily found in both instances.
Notice it or not, Beowulf elements have been put into many movies even after...